A Positively Poetic Priest

St. Peter's  Easter 4A April 30, 2023 Our choir did a lovely job of singing the 23rd Psalm this morning. I have a hard time hearing the 23rd Psalm sung without thinking about the Vicar of Dibley. Which started me thinking about the special relationship that show had with sheep... including the groundbreaking interrupting sheep joke at the end of the episode titled the Christmas Lunch Incident in 1996. You remember that one, Geraldine, the Vicar, played by Dawn French, and Alice, her verger, played by Emma Chambers are having tea in the sacristy when Geraldine says, Knock, knock. Who's there? The interrupting sheep. The interrupting she... Baaaaa! You get it? No, sorry, 'cause I hadn't finished my bit. Do it again, and... No, that's the joke, you see. The interrupting sheep always interrupts people. See? And that's funny? Yes. It's hilarious. Well, depending on your preferred level of comedy. Today is commonly known as Good Shepherd Sunday. Every year in the ...

"Mommy! Look at me!" "Daddy! Watch this!" "Gram! Did you see what I did there??" Or perhaps you've heard the adult version, "Dude, hold my beer."  You know, when you hear one of these phrases someone wants your attention and they want it right now because they are going to do something they think is pretty cool. Naturally, what counts as pretty cool is a wide variety,  mostly depending on the context and age of the person speaking. However, we all know the longing for someone to pay attention to us. God created us as relational beings  and part of being in relationship is sharing our focus with other people. And we all certain know what it is like to want someone else's attention and not get it.  At first glance,  to us today, this is how the Gospel passage from Luke looks. The Samaritans can tell that Jesus is focused on other things. It seems like they want his attention and he isn...

Ich habe gute Nachrichten! Tolle Neuigkeiten! Hast du von Jesus gehört? Der Messias ist gekommen! Die, auf die wir gewartet haben! Gott hat unseren Retter gesandt! Gott liebt uns und schickte uns seinen Sohn! Hmm ... du siehst verwirrt aus. Spreche ich die falsche Sprache? ¿Qué tal esto? ¡Tengo buenas noticias! ¡Buenas noticias en realidad! ¿Has oído hablar de Jesús? ¡El Mesías ha venido! ¡El que hemos estado esperando! Dios ha enviado a nuestro salvador! Dios nos ama y nos envió a su hijo! Hmm ... esto todavía no parece correcto. Oh, oh, English... I have good news! Great news actually! Have you heard about Jesus? The Messiah has come!  The one we have been waiting for!  God has sent our savior! God loves us and sent us his son! The good news of Jesus  really makes much more sense  when you hear it in a language you know! That was the amazing thing about the story from Acts. All sorts of ...

9.28.14   God of the vineyard, naming us to help create fine wine, you honor us, along with prostitutes and tax collectors, in your kingdom. When we are confused about our role, our part, guide us to your will, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen I have two brothers. I almost have the exact two brothers Jesus is talking about, one who tells you he will do something and does not and the other tells you he won't but then does. My brothers are not always consistent in this pattern, but it is their tendency. My youngest brother will accept when my Mom asks him to do the dishes and 45 min later, you'll find him sitting in the kitchen, dirty dishes still stacked all over and him listening to music "preparing" to do the dishes. He still swears he will do them... Just, when he is ready. The other has an adamant "NO." But he does occasionally do what he has said no to. Early this summer, I ...

This was my first sermon at my new Parish.  10 August 2014 Have you walked the labyrinth lately? Part of the reason I was drawn to Holy Spirit is the labyrinth which lays outside that wall. I have always found labyrinths to be a helpful practice for my faith and a good metaphor for the life which I have been leading. At face value, a labyrinth seems kind of pointless. It’s a giant circle that you walk around without really getting anywhere. You do get to the middle, but its by a circuitous journey that takes much longer than it would take just to go straight toward the middle. A lot of times life seems that way. I try to do one thing, but I end up having to do all these other things before I can get to what I want to do. But I have to trust the process. I have walked enough labyrinths all over the country to have realized that the point is not just to get to the center geographically, but to get to the center of life. It’s a small focused journey to God. It’s part of a larger wal...